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Wind Motion 70T is a 70-metre trimaran concept by French-based yacht designer Mathis Ruhl. New rigs, developed by a designers are capturing and transforming wind energy into an efficient propulsive force.Named the RTW ², Ruhl explains: “We previously developed the MRTW rig as a wind propulsor suited for larger vessels. With the RTW ² rig, we took the concept even further, breeding it with the articulated two elements thick wing concept. A larger wing mast section and foldable articulated thick sail reduces the compression load in the mast, and unties the two spars in a central pivot. The result is higher aerodynamic efficiency, a lighter structure, and lower required deck space.”

Dutch yard Heesen has announced that 49.8 metre superyacht previously known under codename Project Ayla is launched and christened White at its Oss shipyard on 8th of February. White was originally built on speculation, but has been bought one year into construction in October, 2017.White is from Heesen's 5000 Aluminium series class, with a gross tonnage below 500GT - the limit which is currently continuing to influence yacht design, comes with exterior styling from repetitive Heesen Yachts collaborator Frank Laupman and his Omega Architects studio, and the yard describes the look as “an emblem of sporty elegance”. The superyacht sundeck is measuring 70 square metres and has been fitted out with decorative fabrics from Hermes. The other highlights on the upper deck are the spa pool, surrounded by sunpads, and the full-service bar area. The fast and comfortable hull was created by the yard’s in-house naval architects.Interior design comes from Italian designer Cristiano Gatto, who worked in deep contact with the owners to customise the yacht : interior in glossy ebony and Canaletto walnut was inspired by the work of New Deco designer Jean-Michel Frank and has been extensively fitted tothe owner's tastes. Key pieces include an ebony, leather and stainless steel coffee table with a hidden ice bucket beneath, and custom-designed Loro Piana upholstery with bookcases built into the armrests. The accommodation up to 12 guests in 6 cabins, including a main deck owner’s cabin, full-beam VIP below decks, 2 double staterooms and 2 twin cabins, all with their own private en-suite bathrooms.Power comes from twin MTU 16V4000 engines, reaching top speed of 23 knots and 11 knots economic speed with range of 3,200 nautical miles.White's sea trials procedure will be held at the North Sea. Delivery is scheduled on April, 2018.Another superyacht project at the Dutch yard is the recently sold 60 metre Project Falcon.

Chinese yard Pride Mega Yachts has announced a construction video of its superyacht Illusion Plus, which should be completed and launched this year. The project was announced in 2007, but was put on hold because of world economical crisis.British studio Rainsford Saunders Design is responsible for exterior, inspired by Rolls-Royce cars, while Dutch designers Sinot Exclusive Yacht Design.The yacht is built from a steel hull and aluminium superstructure to ABS class, will accommodate 12 guests and 25 crew members, in master suite, 2 VIPs, 2 doubles and 2 twins, with interior volume of 3,600GT.Powered by twin 3,000hp Rolls-Royce diesel-electric engines, with a top speed of 16 knots and cruising speed at 14 knots with 5,000nm range.

Heesen has announced the delivery of VanTom, the sixth yacht in the popular 50 metre semi-displacement class designed by Frank Laupman at Omega Architects. The delivery took place in international waters on February 14, 2018 after intensive tests in the rough winter waves of the North Sea. The sea trials took place on January 12 and 29 in Beaufort 4 and 6, with North westerly winds and waves up to one metre. Captain David Burge comments: “During sea trials, the yacht handled extremely well and gave a very smooth ride, even whilst proceeding at a speed of over 20 knots with a sea running. I am most excited about our maiden voyage down to the Mediterranean Sea and very much look forward to the 2018 summer cruising season.”VanTom exceeded the contractual speed by 0.3 knots, reaching a top speed of 20.3 knots, while at 11 knots she has a transatlantic range of 3,100 nautical miles. With a Gross Tonnage of below the 500GT threshold, VanTom sports a highly efficient hard-chine hull and propulsion system that is both quiet and vibration-free, even at higher speeds. Arne Ploch at Camper & Nicholsons, who represented the client’s commercial interests during the construction, comments: “It was a real pleasure to work with Heesen throughout this new build for the past two years. It’s been a smooth relationship based on mutual trust and respect, the way it should be when building a new yacht. It has been a great experience for the owner and his team.”The Heesen 5000 Aluminium class has proven to be a revolutionary offering. Hinging on a semi-custom platform, the pioneering concept enables clients to have a yacht they can customise that relies on proven design and technology, reducing both client costs and construction times.

Few events have ever affected yachting as much as the sinking of the 60 meter Yogi. The largest yacht to ever sink, its wreck strongly hit the Turkish shipbuilding sector and made owners take a hard look at their insurances and dangers, even though no one was hurt. Despite the accident, Yogi was no less of an exceptional yacht.Yogi was the largest yacht ever built by up and coming Turkish shipyard, Proteksan Turquoise at the time of her delivery in 2011. Reminiscent of an explorer style yacht through her design by Jean Guy Verges, Yogi featured oversized portholes in her hull that brought in tons of flight into the yacht's cabins.Built for Stephane Courbit, a French media and TV millionaire valued at €450 million, Yogi was built to be operated as a charter yacht part of its hotel collection. Maximizing space, the yacht had many amenities for her size including a swimming pool, beach club, wellness center and media room. Yet, on February 17th 2012, just as the yacht was days out of leaving the yard where it was undergoing warrantied maintenance work, it sank in the Aegean sea. The weather was particularly difficult during that day and yet it seems to be an engine failure that, tied to a number of circumstantial events, led to the 60-meter yacht sinking to the bottom of the Mediterranean. The report did, however, clear Proteksan in the quality of its build, focusing on what was a mixture of human oversight and extreme conditions. A Turkish investigations arrived at similar conclusions. Manned by a skeleton crew of 8 during this voyage, it took an hour to evacuate by helicopter the yacht's crew as seas at their peek featured waves of up to 7 meters.The largest yacht to have ever cruised with the French flag, Yogi was part of Courbit's Lov Collection, a holding company that includes the Les Airelles palace in Courchevel as well as the Pan Dei hotel in St Tropez. Built with charter in mind to its existing and new clientele, the yacht commanded prices of up to €378,000 per week and featured 800 square meter of interior space in a particularly luxurious interior.A key element in Yogi's design was her large pool with overflow that sat aft of the yacht's main deck, directly on top of its beach club. In the middle of the pool was a glass porthole that flooded the area underneath with light. All around the pool were lounging pads for Yogi's guest to take in the sun when the yacht was anchored off in a bay.To complement the swimming pool aft of the main deck, a Jacuzzi was also placed aft of the sundeck, for guests that wanted to enjoy the sun in a hot tub. Also surrounded by sunpads, these feature a common beige design throughout the yacht with colored pillows. Same can be said for the customizable lounging area aft of the upper deck.On the inside, Yogi was reminiscent of Courbit's luxurious hotels. Featuring a beige and creme tone throughout the yacht, the 60-meter was fitted with floor to ceiling windows that visually increased the size of its 800 square meters of interior space. Its main salon was structured into a lounging area and a TV sector with a wide screen built into the wall.Stretching across the full beam of the yacht, Yogi's master bedroom was no less spectacular with both lots of light and space. A king sized bed throned in the middle of the suite with access through a central corridor to a dressing room and his and hers bathrooms. The yacht's guest accommodation didn't also pale in comparison with the owner's stateroom. Finished in the same style, the double and twin guest cabins could be connected or separated through double sliding doors. In total, Yogi could accommodate a total of 12 guests across 6 cabins.Tall windows could be found throughout the yacht and were a real differentiating factor from competition on the market for Yogi. 'The idea was to have a yacht that could be chartered and run just like a resort.' detailed its designer, Jean Guy Verges in a later interview. 'She has been designed to the specific request of her owner. I think this jewel offered more than you would expect of a yacht her size.'Another interesting amenity of Yogi was her observational lounge up on the sun deck. Finished throughout in glass, the area boasted a 180 degree view into the yacht's surroundings through a climate controlled environment. Equipped with custom furniture from the likes of Hermes, this media lounge separated the sun deck into a Jacuzzi and a raised dinning area.Down on the upper deck, which also featured a covered dinning room, guests would find an extensive lounging pad with tiles that could be raised or flattened to create lounging chairs or sun beds. Connected to iPods and iPhones, which in 2011 was still rare, Yogi featured an advanced system for her time with TVs that slid out even in front of lounging pads.Viewed by many as a step forward for the Turkish yacht building sector and as an endorsement of their quality, when Yogi sank, the whole country took a hit. By 2011, yacht owners and charters had started outgrowing the stigma of building in Turkey and the market was picking up for local builders. In fact Yogi was the largest yacht ever built by Proteksan.Yogi's delivery was followed weeks after by their newest flagship, a 70.5-meter reminiscent of a Dutch-build quality, Talisman C. Shortly after it followed the 72-meter Vicky and it looked like Turkey would emerge as a yacht building destination. This all ended when Yogi sank in February 2012 and owners' stigma towards Turkey developed once again.Although some Turkish shipyards continued to prosper, many faded down their ambitions in a global recession. This ultimately culminated with the acquisition of Proteksan Turquoise by Dutch-based Oceanco. Backed by billionaire investor Mohammed Al Barwani, the Dutch superyacht builder since set out on a mission to make the yard competitive and got an order for a 77-meter yacht now under build.Having initially started his career in television in the 1990s, Stephane Courbit where he built a reputation, eventually starting his own production company behind hits such as Miss France. Eventually acquired by Dutch holding Endemol, Courbit exited from the company in 2001. His LOV Group currently includes companies in the audiovisual space with several production companies behind some of France's most popular game shows. Other investments include several betting sites, which he started in acquiring in 2007. One of his fastest growing divisions has now becomes the Airelles collection of hotels.After investing nearly $200 million into the purchase and renovation of the five star Courchevel palace, Les Airelles, Courbit acquired the Pan Dei Palace in St Tropez. His hotel portfolio then grew with the Bastide de Gordes in 2014. Two more Airelles hotels are set to open in the next two years, one in Versailles and one in Val d'Isiere.